Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996, the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) is the first and remains the only global UN funding mechanism dedicated exclusively to providing direct grants to civil society organizations working to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls (EVAW/G). Since 2010, UN Women has administered the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, providing a strong institutional foundation and field support through a global infrastructure of country and regional offices.

With nearly three decades of experience, the UN Trust Fund has become a key global mechanism for funding initiatives that aim to eliminate violence against women and girls. It plays a critical role in fostering collaboration across governments, UN agencies, and civil society to address the root causes and consequences of violence, aligning its work with broader international policies and frameworks. The UN Trust Fund focuses on providing long-term grants to organizations that work in diverse contexts, particularly those representing marginalized groups, such as indigenous women, women living with disabilities, and women from rural or conflict-affected areas. Its investments are survivor-centered and aim to have sustainable, long-term impacts. To date, the UN Trust Fund has funded over 700 initiatives in over 140 countries and territories, significantly contributing to global efforts to end violence against women and girls.

Reporting to Deputy Chief, the EVAW Grant-Giving Programme Specialist will be responsible for (1) strategic thinking around grant-giving and funding approaches; (2) managing the UN Trust Fund’s overall Grant-making Programme; and (3) supporting grant-making related knowledge and exchange, in addition to supporting other activities at the UN Trust Fund and UN Women corporate level as requested.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1.    Lead strategic thinking around grant-giving and funding approaches 

• Draft and implement a grant-giving strategy focused on awarding grants to CSOs/WROs that aligns with the UN Trust Fund’s new Strategic Plan 2026-2030.
• Input into development of specific programmatic capacity development tools and resources for grantees during their project inception phase, in collaboration with the Grants Management and Operations Teams.
• Contribute to the Fund’s internal grantmaking systematization, including compilation of procedures and policies.
• Support the organization of major events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products related to grant-giving and grants-management.
• Conduct assessments of the Fund’s processes as related to its Grant-making Programme and compile lessons learned, best practices and results to increase the Fund’s efficiency and efficacy.
• Provide substantive input into the UN Trust Fund’s operational guideline and procedures related to grant-giving and grants management.
• Provide technical analysis including through substantive trends reporting of applications on ending violence against women and girls submitted to the UN Trust Fund under its Calls for Proposals.

2.    Manage end-to end technical aspects the UNTF-EVAW Grant-making Programme 

• Lead the implementation of the overall grant-making programme, in alignment with the UN Trust Fund’s strategy.
• Develop an annual grant-making work plan and coordinate finalization of grantee cohorts according to agreed upon timelines and Annual Work Plan documents in collaboration with the Grants and Operations teams.
• Liaise with the UN Trust Fund staff, Global and Regional Programme Advisory Committees (PAC), UN Women Offices and partners to ensure the Programme results are achieved and resources are managed.
• Develop external/public programmatic guidance, including the Call for Proposals and all related grant-giving and reporting documents, application documents, appraisal guidance and criteria, feedback letters and grantee summaries, and ensure feedback from other teams is duly-incorporated.
• Support the dissemination and outreach of the Call for proposals, in collaboration with the Global Giving team.
• Provide technical guidance to the Fund’s Technical Review Groups and external reviewers to ensure quality scoring during the application review process and analyze their inputs.
• Oversee communications with applicants and selected grantees and provide inputs into communications materials.
• Record and maintain documents on relevant grant-giving activities, issues, and risks.

3.    Guide coordination with partners and other stakeholders 

• Coordinate relationships with partners and UN Women Regional and Country Offices to support implementation of the Grant-making Programme and related grants portfolio, raise potential problems and provide solutions.
• Provide guidance to potential grant applicants to support the completion of applications, including Full-Fledged Proposals in collaboration with the Grants Management and Operations teams, to ensure compliance with Fund’s policies towards the submission of high-quality applications by priority groups.
• Facilitate communication across various stakeholders, including the external technical reviewers, UN Women, Civil Society and UN PAC members.
• Provide technical guidance on grant review and selection to UN Women ROs/COs and grantees to ensure adherence to UN Women policies, administrative and financial procedures.

4.    Coordinate knowledge management and exchange related to the Grant-making Programme 

• Gather and compile all information necessary for reporting on the grant-making programmes from the planning to the grant selection stages for each grant-giving cycle.
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the programme, including through development of application analysis and inputs into various reports.
• Coordinate the internal tracking of financial resources of the Grant-Making Programme including budgeting, and expenditure tracking and reporting.
• Prepare and present periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Grants Manager and UN Trust Fund Deputy Chief.
• Act as Portfolio Manager for a sub-set of grants, undertaking all related monitoring, reporting and oversight responsibilities, if needed.

5.    The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

The incumbent manages up to 60 affiliate personnel each year (short term consultants).

Competencies:

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Strong coordination, programme implementation and monitoring skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or other related areas is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component ending violence against women programme interventions is required.
• Experience in coordinating, implementing and administering grant-making programmes and projects is required.
• Experience in project management – preferably grants management – is required.
• Experience with databases and data management is required.
• Experience working with civil society organizations, particularly women’s rights organization, is desirable.
• Previous experience working in the UN system or with other feminist funds is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French and/or Spanish highly desirable.

Statements:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements